Self-ish Time — Really?

“You need to be more Self-ish,” she said.  “Stop with all the doing, giving, serving.”

This, from a friend who has done, given and served as much as anyone I know.

What!?!?!?

We were eating salads on a cool November day in Boston.

“What I mean,” she set down her fork and clarified, “is that you need to take time out for your SELF.  Not all of the many roles you play.  Not all of the people who rely on you.  But for your SOUL.”

Hmm.  Yes.  How often do I tell others how important this is?

Advent can be such a time, wedged between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  A time of anticipation, many hidden tasks, and for some a time of anxiety and sadness and dread.

What better time to go quiet for a while, to unplug – for a few moments each day — from all the carefully and lovingly developed relationships and labors of one’s life — and to look for the hidden maps that may be lurking in your deep imagination, see the stars that beckon on a distant horizon.

You don’t have to go far to do this.  You just need to prepare the way within yourself.

A cup of tea.  An hour of quiet.  A good book.  Advent can be a time to honor the deep self, as you make another turn on your own path.

I will take my friend’s advice this Advent, but I find that doing this kind of work is often enhanced by doing it with others.  I will be recommending good books and ideas here in the next few weeks.  And if you feel like joining a lunch-hour journal group, scroll down and see my last post.  It’s good to travel together.

image of Fra Angelico’s The Annunciation, Florence, Italy